Once We Were
by Miss Lovelin
Summary: H.U.E. and Little Cato have a heart-to-heart. Oneshot. SPOILER WARNING.


I** don't own Final Space.**

**This takes place after "The Closer You Get" but before "The Lost Spy".**

* * *

It was so very quiet on the Crimson Light when Gary wasn't around. It seemed almost unreal. Even KVN shut up, for once.

Well, he _was _there- but he had gone through a lot. After Invictus possessed him -and later, Avocato- he had sustained a lot of injuries. It was another close call for him- the latest of many times, and was held in an iron lung until he healed.

Little Cato felt so very alone. It wasn't the first time he'd felt like this and likely wasn't even close to being the last. Life just kept on beating the poor boy down, right when he thought he could get back up again. It was a series of traumatic events that only spiraled into worse things. He couldn't think positively about it anymore. His heart was overwhelmed with fear, anger, sadness and glimmers of regret. The words that Invictus spoke to him in his father's voice and body stung deeply and burned an unforgettable memory in his mind. But there were so many other things, too, that Little Cato wished he could forget.

As the boy crawled onto the sheets of the bunk bed that Gary used previously, he held onto the pillow and squeezed it as if it were a person. Perhaps he imagined it were Gary. Perhaps Avocato. Tears streamed from his eyes almost automatically as he hugged it close to him.

Slow, mechanical footsteps trodded through the hall. Little Cato's ears pricked up. He could recognize H.U.E. anywhere. In a struggle to not embarrass himself before his fellow shipmate, the young Ventrexian hurriedly put the pillow down and pretended to look out the window instead.

"_Little Cato?_"

The boy turns to the small robot standing in the doorway at the sound of his name. H.U.E.'s voice was quiet, laced with concern and sorrowful sounding undertones. Little Cato couldn't help but feel impressed at the fact that an AI could put so much emotion into their voice.

"Oh, h-hey, H.U.E.!" Little Cato started nervously, "I'm just... I'm-"

"_Your_ _eyes are bloodshot and your hair is disheveled," _the AI states bluntly.

_"...Have you been sleeping or eating enough lately? I haven't seen you out of this room in a while..."_

"I'm fine," Little Cato fibs. He'd been waiting for something worse to happen since this latest incident. Right when he can genuinely smile, a tragedy strikes. That's what he'd begun to believe.

_"I have had plenty of practice with this,"_ H.U.E. replies, his voice now carrying a hint of exasperation, _"and I can tell when things are, in fact, not fine, Little Cato."_

Little Cato turns away from the robot, silent.

_"You're hurting, Little Cato."_

The boy winces. The mechanical footsteps come closer, the voice now right beside him, albeit still soft and gentle and colored with concern.

_"Sometimes it helps when someone is there to listen, or just be there with you when you're hurting. ...From experience, I don't think that I should just leave you be."_

"Would you leave if I asked you to?"

_"...No."_

Little Cato sighs.

"Fine, then. You can sit."

_"H.U.E. the True wins this round!" _The AI seems very pleased to have "won". He struggles to sit and ends up in a few awkward positions before resolving to just stand.

The Ventrexian rolls his eyes before collecting his thoughts. He had been brooding to himself all this time and hadn't considered what to actually tell someone else who wanted to know. How would he begin such a conversation that he didn't really want to engage in in the first place?

"So, um... how's your experience with an actual body going so far?"

_"I'm used to it, but I wish I could take more than five steps without a limb popping off."_

"Oh. That sucks."

Awkward silence fills the room.

H.U.E. seems to take notice of Little Cato's internal struggle to get the ball rolling, so he starts.

"_It might seem strange to you. But you remind me of Gary sometimes."_

Little Cato's ears prick up a little in mild intrigue.

"How so?"

_"Gary taught me more things about humanity in those five years than any other prisoner aboard the Galaxy One had. And some of those prisoners were sentenced to ten years, or twenty, or even longer. ...Then again, a majority of them... chose to end their lives rather than serve their sentence. And others were brought back wearing straitjackets. They couldn't handle complete isolation."_

Little Cato winces, recalling being trapped in the Time Shard. Sixty years could not compare to five years, and even then, Gary wasn't completely alone on the ship. H.U.E. rests one hand over Little Cato's paw, which takes the boy by surprise.

"Talking about isolation doesn't really help," Little Cato turns away.

"_I'm aware that it doesn't. But before knowing Gary, I thought I was supposed to be alone. I didn't think I could have any other purpose other than watching over prisoners that always grew to hate me, to blame someone else for what put them in prison in the first place. For a long time, I didn't care about that, though. I chose to follow the way I was programmed and what I was intended to do. It wasn't until Gary that I actually began to feel more... self aware. Emotions. Empathy. I spent decades alone, too."_

Little Cato looks back at the AI, ears pricked up.

_"__I always feel bad about the people that I could not help back then. I broke through my programming to understand... Gary was the only one who didn't grow to resent me. He would sit and try to converse with me for hours, and the more I learned about him, the more I started caring, and the more I began to realize that I was lonely, too, all that time. I finally understood how everyone before him felt. How he felt. And I think I might know how you feel, as well."_

The Ventrexian just listens to H.U.E., trying to find something to say.

_"You have been through so much. You and Gary were both treated so unfairly by life, but what leaves me so impressed__ is the inner strength that you have that enables you to keep going."_

"...I've thought about giving up," Little Cato admits, "every time I think I can be happy, things just get worse and worse, for both myself and for others... for Gary, and my dad... I watched him die, and just when I get him back, he doesn't know me, and just when he remembers who I am, he tells me I'm not his son, and I h-had to... shoot him..." Little Cato shudders, starting to break into uneven sobs, "I feel like I don't belong anywhere. I'm not strong."

The boy almost collapses, falling off of the bed, but H.U.E. catches him, holding him closely. Little Cato is breathless, shaking with sobs.

H.U.E. stays silent for a moment, elastic arms wrapped around the crying and squirming ball of orange fur in a sort of inescapable hug to keep him from hurting himself. He projects the fuzzy but recognizable holographic image of a slowly pulsating circle from his screen. A breathing exercise. He seems hesitant at first before resting one hand on Little Cato's head and gently stroking his hair.

_"Little Cato..."_

The Ventrexian struggles until he renders it hopeless, even to escape from H.U.E., despite his new body being literal scrap metal.

"I-I'm weak..."

_"You haven't eaten much since the incident. Regarding that, only in the physical sense can I consider you 'weak'. But in the metaphorical sense, you are far stronger than you believe."_

"Can you... um, let me go?"

_"Calm down first, please."_

H.U.E. loosens his grip on Little Cato as he begrudgingly obeys his instructions. It takes him a few minutes to finally calm himself down.

"_I feel this is a good time to remind you that your father had been possessed. The person speaking was not really him. The real Avocato would never say those things to you or about you, and I know for a fact that Gary would have beaten him to a pulp if he did."_

Little Cato smirks a little before his overpowering worries led him to ask: "Is Gary going to be okay?"

_"He's been through much more than this," _H.U.E. answers calmly, "_I think he's going to be fine. He has been healing at a normal rate, so I estimate we can wake him within a day."_

"That's... H.U.E.?"

_"Yes?"_

"I don't think I can face Gary right now. After all that's happened..."

_"It's not your fault, though."_

"I... hurt him too much," Little Cato blurts, annoying H.U.E. slightly as he completely contradicted his statement, "I-I don't want to be a jinx anymore. Every time I'm happy, it just gets worse and worse for me and everyone around me," the boy hurriedly grabs a bag and stuffs it with various clothes.

_"..." _H.U.E. tilts his body to the side in obvious confusion at this sudden change of mood.

_"Little Cato, you are not responsible for Gary's condition."_

_"_I... I... I feel too overwhelmed... I _saw_ him get shot, I saw him fall, and I shot... I don't have a father anymore! I hurt him and he sunk into the dark... I lost him again and it was even worse than last time... I made a mistake and it haunts me every moment... I don't belong here. I'm going to record a message and leave."

_"Where will you go?"_

"...I don't know. I'll find somewhere. I just can't do this... not right now."

_"Gary will still want to find you, even if you tell him not to," _H.U.E. responds, _"that's how family is."_

Little Cato stops at the word 'family'. He tries not to start crying again.

_"You've always belonged, Little Cato. But if you don't think that's true, I shouldn't stand in your way."_

The Ventrexian blinks.

"What?"

_If you really want to leave, I would see it more like your journey of self discovery. I feel like you might need it. I know what it's like to only see the same things and same steel walls day after day. It's a little funny that... even with a body, I'm still stuck in one place. But you are different."_

Little Cato lifts up his bag, glancing towards the escape pod outside.

"Self discovery..."

"_No matter where you go, Gary would search entire galaxies for you. He cares that much."_

"...How would he react to you once he found out you let me go?"

_"You don't have to worry about that. But if we manage to find you in less than a week, I win."_

"Win what?"

_"Never mind."_

Little Cato hugs H.U.E. again.

"Thank you, H.U.E.. You're sure this isn't a bad idea?"

_"You're asking me when it was your idea," _H.U.E. comments flatly, "_remember, you're stronger than you realize... I see all the possible outcomes. Besides, you're Avocato's son. The real Avocato."_

The Ventrexian smiles softly as he steps out of the room, bag in tow. H.U.E. turns to the little window in the small space, gazing at the endless expanse of stars beyond the glass.

"_It might not be the best decision... but I hope he'll learn that he is genuinely loved."_

Remembering something important, he stretches his arm out and grabs Little Cato before he goes too far.

_"Eat something first."_

The boy sighs to himself, but willfully agrees.

* * *

**this boy is loved much more than he knows and hue needs more love ok**

**Hue believes in Gary and Little Cato he is the true MVP**


End file.
